21 has seemed to be the magic number for us adults in the O house.  It is apparently just as I thought, you turn 21 and you start feeling old.  And now, apparently my body thinks it’s time to get old too, and so does my husband’s. We’re both finding more and more gray hairs by the day!  Crazy.  And so, I was trying to figure out why now. Why at 21?

1. We’re stressed.

2. We became husband and wife and parents in the same year, at 19 years old.

3. We’re trying to balance the hectic life of finishing school and parenting a nearly 2 year old.

4. We’re just getting older. (I know older people are smirking right now, but I don’t feel 21!)

Of course there are plenty of people who start going gray even before they finish high school, with no kids around. I just thought it wouldn’t happen to me since both of my parents have hardly gone gray yet, I thought I’d luck out and have naturally brown hair for at least 20 more years. And really, I guess I could, but it just boggles my mind that the process has started already!

When did you start noticing those wisdom hairs?

(Now off to study for my three tests this week to gain even more wisdom hairs)

(haha. I’m so original with titles, I know.)

I can’t believe it’s already been a week since arriving in Indiana for our visit and, you guessed it, my best friend’s wedding. What I can’t believe even more is that it’s been over 4 years since we first met face to face. By the grace of God, I found a MSN message board called “Adoptions of Love” while I was pregnant with Kaylee. And on that board I came across Breanna, who had a daughter she placed in an open adoption. We immediately became close friends and had so many similarities (from calling our daughter’s “Baby Girl”, to our favorite meal is pot roast and mashed potatoes). For Kaylee’s birth, she and her mom drove the 14 hours to be by my side as I went through the hardest weekend of my life. She was there when I signed my rights away, encouraging me and crying with me. She was the only one in that room who truly knew what I was going through, and it meant the world to me to have her there. Even after she left for home and months after Kaylee’s birth, she was the one I called when I missed Kaylee so much that all I could do was cry and she would listen. We used to be able to visit more often, but as we’ve grown up, our lives have gotten busier. So to spend this past weekend with a dear friend like Breanna, and the honor of getting to share in her special day, was truly a blessed time for me.

Last Wednesday we left home and headed to Tennessee to start our visit out with Mark’s brother and his wife. I didn’t cry when we drove away and left Savannah behind (Oh, yes, I did), though I did consider changing plans at last minute and pack her up with us! Our drive wasn’t too bad, 7.5ish, and we each drove half way. Once arriving in the beautiful TN, it was a short and simple visit, but still enjoyable.

I also spent the night texting Jill (who had a root canal this morning so go give her some love!) from Live, Laugh, Blog to make plans because we (or I?) was too shy to call. And so, my in-laws joked that Jill would actually turn up to be some scary kidnaping ice cream lady since I only know her from online. But finally, she did call me (and I had proof she wasn’t a man or a scary lady) and we made plans and wha-la! I got to meet Jill and her two cute daughters for a yummy brunch at Cracker Barrel the next day. And I can tell you, she is as sweet in person as she is on her blog. But of course, silly me forgot to take a picture! Even though I had clearly made a point to put my camera in my purse. Oy.

Thursday we made the 3 hour trip to Indiana but, we got there earlier than planned and Bre was out running errands, so 2 hours later she finally arrived. And I have to say, even after not seeing her for over a year, we immediately were just how we left each other: Comfortable friends. Meaning, it wasn’t awkward. That just amazes me! I also got to spend a lot of time with Bre’s daughter and adoptive parents. Which, they are awesome and I loved watching all of them interact together.

Friday we got our nails done for $7.00 being the cheapo’s we are. And now we know why it was only $7.00: they sucked. We all went home and redid them our selves and it looked more professional than the salon job’s. We also decorated the reception space, which looked amazing. Bre chose beautiful colors (pink and brown), flowers, and fabrics (with her mother’s help, I’m sure!) so everything looked really simple, but elegant. We went through the motions of rehearsal and then went off to dinner (which was absolutely one of the best meals I’ve ever had!).

Saturday came before we knew it and Breanna surprising was really calm throughout the day. We got our hair done at 12. I loved my hair, it was the prettiest I think it’s ever been done. And ya know, Bre’s and the other ladies’ were beautiful as well. We all got ready, had pictures done, etc. We all shoved down some lunch, got all pretty, dressed and took pictures. Breanna looked gorgeous with her long train and beautiful curly hair.

And ya know, Mark and I looked pretty good too. I was worried Mark was going to be bored this whole trip but he was amazing. He bonded with the other guys in the house, took pictures for Bre, helped iron clothes. Bre’s Mom even told me one night, “You are one lucky girl to have a guy like him! He irons!” Indeed, I am lucky.

I also found something interesting in my dinner: A heart in my chip! Surely, it’s a sign from God that good things are destined for Breanna and Aaron, right? Right now she and her new husband are probably enjoying the sun down in Jamaica (Is anyone else jealous? I am!). Sounds like a great start to a new life together already :-)

Congrats Breanna and Aaron!

I started out with blonde, curly hair, can you believe it? Wait, I take that back. I was pretty much bald until I was over 2 years old, but when I finally grew some hair, it was blonde and wavy. As I got older, my hair got darker, much like my dad’s did over the years.

I had bangs pretty much all my life up until I was 9 when it was the cool thing to do to grow out your bangs. That was lovely hair phase, let me tell you. So, I grew them out and never looked back (because those pictures are horrible! You’re already pretty awkward at 9, anyway).

At 14 years old, a freshman in high school, I wanted something different. Actually, I wanted to look like Mary-Kate and Ashley at the time (think “Our Lips Are Sealed” look). Yeah…didn’t turn out how I imagined it, mainly because it’s harder to style than you’d think.

Then, my hair just grew and grew for the next 4 years to where it was ridiculously long for my thin hair. But I loved it. It was either really long and straight, or scrunched nicely into waves. I had high lights mostly during that time, and at one point even dyed it red. Oy! It was high school, what can I say. But man, I loved my long hair.

Eventually though, I was in desperate need to cut off the dead ends and I was ready for something new. So, I cut just a few inches off and started the long swoop bang look. This took place my freshman year of college, just after meeting Mark. And, then it got even shorter by the summer time (as seen in the blue shirt).

Then pregnancy happened and it changed my hair into a frizzy mind of it’s own. The only thing I felt that looked decent was to scrunch it again (and it was easy for a new mom!), but even that turned into not-so-good-looking. So, by the time Savannah was 4 months old, the hair pulling had increased, and I was just really sick of my non-stylish frizzy hair. So I chopped it off, modeling Katie Holmes new hair. And I loved it (see website header images).

But now it’s been almost a year since then, and again, I was ready for something different. What could I possible make different, you ask? It’s already pretty short. Well…I got bangs! (I guess I didn’t count side swoop bangs as bangs because they’re so out of the way?) After nearly 12 years without them I’m still getting used to “the new me”. Some times they annoy me, some times I look like a young clone of my Aunt, and sometimes I think I look pretty awesome. What do you think?

(Note: Frames from Digital Scrapbook Place…free!)

Ever since I chopped off my hair last July, one of the most common searches on Google leading to this blog has been, “Katie Holmes new hair,” “Mommy bob,” “Bob with bangs,” etc.  Some how even the picture of my newly short hair cut keeps popping up in Google Images, leading people back to here.

So, since all these people are wandering about the mommy bob, I thought I’d make some tips/advice before you make this decision.

1.  For me, it’s been more work.  When I had longer hair I could just scrunch it and go, dry it straight without much work, or air dry, etc. but now I have to invest the time in making it look decent (but with longer hair I don’t think it EVER looked good).  I have to blow dry it and curl the ends under.  My hair can never decide which way it wants to curl, one side is always flipped out while the other is curled under and shorter hair only emphasizes that even more.

2. You have less options to “do” things with it. My hair is too short to put up any more. Even half way up, my bangs fall out.  It won’t curl right with a curling iron. So, it always looks the same. But hey, it always looks good so I’m ok with that!

3. Invest in a hair straightener. This one hair device makes the world a better place, simply because no matter what kind of day my hair is having, the straightener always fixes it. It’s definitely worth the extra $30, $60, whatever you want to spend on it. I have this one from Conair.  It’s a smaller one (1 and half inches) so that it fits better with curling ends under.  The only thing I don’t like about it is that it some times pulls my hair, but small price to pay for the results, in my opinion.

4. Even though I said above that it involves more time, it’s so easy to do.  I really don’t think it takes more than 10 minutes to blow dry, but maybe another 1-2 minutes to straighten the ends.  It’s so easy to do and really always looks good.  It actually may be less work because I don’t fight with it as much.

5. It involves more frequent hair cuts.

6. You’ll get so many compliments! I have.  I really think it’s the best hair cut I’ve ever had. Once you figure out the best way to do things for your hair, and use things like a straightener, it will look amazing.
7. The little extra time and hair cuts, make it worth it for me. Why? Because I’m happier with it. I’m not fighting with it in the mornings. It’s easy to fix. It’s out of my way (and my daughter’s quick hands).  It’s classy and sophisticated. It’s stylish.  I think, anyway.

So, if you’re ready to take the plunge, I say go for it!

Okay, all you “Bob with bangs” searchers, feast your eyes on this hair cut, inspired by Katie Holmes’ new doo. The pictures do not do it justice! I fell in love with her new hair style while looking around the internet. I haven’t had my hair this short since I was 14, and it wasn’t too pretty back then. I couldn’t style at all because my hair had a mind of it’s own (well, it still does but now I know how to work with it). Taking this huge step (ie. inches) of my hair, was quite nerve-wracking. Will I be able to style it right? Will it look ok? Will I reget this?! But, the fact is, it’s just hair. Even if it turned out horrible, it will grow back. And, it doesn’t hurt to try a new change, right? It’s turned out to be one of the best things I’ve done in a while. I feel so good about myself, I feel cute, sexy, and young (parenthood even at 19 can make you feel old!).

It’s so easy to style and looks good no matter what. Seriously, I could walk out of the house with wet hair, no styling products or anything (just ya know..make a part) and it would look awesome. I slept on it wet, and it still looked good. It seriously does not mess up, at least so far. I love how versitile it is. I can let my hair do it’s own thing (waves, some parts curling under while others are curled out), or have it all smoothe and straight, curled under or flipped out (as I have it today). You can’t go wrong with it. It takes hardly any time to style (or not style) AND my daughter has not pulled it once (another reason for cutting my hair). It’s the ultimate mommy hair cut.

I think it’s probably one of my favorite hair cuts I’ve ever had, seriously. I have extreme thin/fine hair and even with all the layers and texture, it still has lots of volume. Thank you, God, for my beautiful hair and how healthy it is, for my awesome hair dresser and Aveda’s Volumizing Tonic.

It’s amazing what a little pampering can do to a mother’s soul :-)

Look! I got the “Mommy Bob” hair-doo without even trying:

(and a 28 week huge pregnant belly)

I went into my hair appointment thinking I was just going to get a hair trim (especially my bangs, they were about down to my chin!). But, upon thinking about it in further detail, I decided I might want it a tiny bit shorter simular to what I had this summer (i.e. Around my collar bone). And, I requested a little bit more layers because my hair was looking flat and boring on one side.

So, the Hair Lady started cutting, and cutting, and came up with this. It’s not what I invisioned, but I do like it. But, I’m praying that I will be able to style it and make my hair look this nice tomorrow when I wake up.

This is why I hate getting hair cuts, as much as I love them, I hate having to learn/figure out how to style my new hair cut. I remember in September when I last had my hair cut I spent weeks frustrated at what appeared in my mirror every morning before work. Eventually I learned, I’m sure I can with this one too.

Now wasn’t all that hair talk fasinating?!